文摘
In the past decade, the number of incarcerated females in the U.S. has been steadily increasing. One of the major causes for the high rates of recidivism is the inability to adequately address the mental health needs of this population. Given the unique characteristics and needs of female inmates, it is necessary to develop specifically tailored services and programs. Among imprisoned women, the high rates of severe trauma and victimization largely contribute to the development of a wide range of internalizing symptoms, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, somatization, and self-harming behavior, with prevalence rates that are two times higher than the general population. However, trauma response is also strongly affected by risk and resilience factors; therefore, there is a need to clarify how their combination determines individual differences in trauma outcome. The current study examined how the combination of maladaptive emotional coping, social support, and spiritual support impacted the level of adjustment among a sample of 92 predominantly African American and Latina females with history of trauma, substance use, and incarceration. Only emotional coping was a significant predictor of change in internalizing and traumatic stress symptoms, but in an inverse relationship than expected. In fact, a higher tendency to respond emotionally to stressful situations (emotional coping) at intake corresponded to an improvement in symptoms at three months. Implications for clinical practice, as well as limitations and directions for future research are discussed.